Web separator



E. L. MOORE WEB SEPARATOR A ril 9, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 29, 1958 nINVENTOR. EZRA L. M0025 E L. MOORE WEB SEPARA'I'OR April 9, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 29, 1958 INVENTOR. EZRA L M0025 1 w *fi United. States Patent 3,684,979 WEB SEPARATOR Ezra L. Moore, tloiumbus, 1nd, assignor to Arvin n- This invention relates to a spacer for the seat and back supporting webs of an article of furniture, such as a chair, chaise lounge, or the like.

It is an object of my invention to provide an inexpensiveweb spacer adapted to be mounted on an article of furniture such as a supporting webs in a fixed predetermined spaced relation. It is afurther object of my invention to provide a web spacer which can be easily mounted on a chair after chair assembly without the. necessity of interweaving the spacer and the seat and back supporting webs.

My invention is adaptedto housed on a chair, chaise lounge, or the like, of the general type employing elongated strips of. webbing which constitute the back and seat supporting surfaces of said chair, chaise lounge, or the like. One type of such chair is a folding chair having pairs of front and rear-supporting legs pivotally mounted on a pair of chair arms. A back frame is pivoted on said arms and is pivotally interconnected to a seat frame mounted on the front-supporting legs. A seat and, back-supporting rod is mounted at the rear of said seat frame and upon chair extensionis carried into a position in which itis disposed against the rear-supporting legs for supporting the seat and back in an extended position.

The supporting surfaces for the, seat and back are provided by a' plurality of laterally spaced longitudinally extending webs having their ends connected to the top of the back frame and the front of .the seat frame, with theirintermediate stretches extending under the seat and back-supporting rod. Conveniently, such chairs may also employ a plurality of spaced laterally extending 'webs interwoven between the longitudinallyextending webs.

My invention is characterized by the provision of a web spacer mountable on the. seat and back-supporting rod for holding the longitudinally extending webs in spaced relation to each other. One form of my web spacer comprises an elongated member adapted to be mounted on the seat and back-supporting rod. A plurality oftongues are provided'at spaced intervals along said elongated-member and extend partially around the rod in positions such that one of said tongues is disposed on each lateral side of each longitudinal web to hold the webs in a laterally spaced relation. Desirably, at least one of said tongues bindingly grips said rod for holding the elongated member and the other tongues in a fixed axial position on the seat-supporting rod.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention. In such drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a folding chair having a web spacer embodying my invention mounted thereon;

PEG. 2 is a rear elevation of the chair shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary isometric view of the web spacer shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section taken on the line 4- of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary isometric view similar to FIG. 3, but showing a modified form of my invention; and

FIG. 6 is a vertical section taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

As illustrated in the drawings, my web spacer is adapted to be mounted on an article of furniture employing longitudinally extending webs as the supporting surchair for holding its seat and back faces for the back and seat. One such article of furniture is a folding chair of the type shown in FIG. 1 which comprises front and rear-supporting legs 1t! and 12 pivotally mounted at their upper ends on a pair of chair arms 14. A U-shaped chair back frame 16 is pivotally joined to each of the arms 14, as at 1 8, and is pivotally interconnected to the rear edgero f a U-shaped seat frame Ztlswingable about theaxis of its connection to the frontsupporting legs 1Q; In the chair illustrated, pivotal conmotion between the back frame 16 and seat frame 20 is conveniently provided by a pair of U-shaped yokes .22 rigidly secured to the seat frame 20 and having the upper ends of their legs disposed onopposed sides ofthe lower ends of the lateral members of the back. frame 16. Headed pins 24 extend through openings in the yoke legs and the lateral members of the frame 16 to provide a pivotal joint whereby the back and seat frames may be pivoted with respect to each other.

A seat. and back-supporting rod 26 extends transversely across the rear .of the seat frame 26 with. its ends extending through openings in the seat frame 2!} and yokes 22 to project laterally outwardly beyond the edges of the seatframe. Theends of the rod 26 areadapted to rest on the rearward face of the forwardlyinclined rear-supporting legs 12 for supporting the chair seat and back on said legs when the chair is inextended position. Each end of the rod. is rotatablycarried in a link 38 adjacent an end thereof with the opposite ends of said links being pivotally mounted on the inner faces of the rear-supporting legs. 12 as at 31. Thus, movement of the seat. and back frames into their extended position will causethe rod 26 to swing about the axis of the link connections. 31with the links 3i) swinging over their centers to, carry the rod.2 6 against the backface of the 1egs 12.

The supporting surfaces for the seat and back are provided by a plurality of laterally spaced Webs. Sadconveniently formed of plastic, cloth, or the like. One end of each of thewebs isisecured to the upper stretch of the back frame lid and the opposite end is secured to the forward stretch of the seat frame 20, with the intermediate portions of each of the webs passing under the rod 25, The ends of the webs may be secured to the seat and back frames in any convenient manner, such as by clips, screws, or the like. Desirably, a plurality of spaced laterally extending webs 3d are secured to the side members of the seat and back frames and are interwoven between the longitudinal webs 34 to give added strength to the chair seat and back.

My invention is characterized by the provision of means mountable on the rod 26 for holding the longitudinally extending webs 34 in their normal laterally spaced relation when the chair is in both extended and collapsed positions. One mode of carrying out my invention is shown in FIG. 3, wherein there is provided an elongated metal strip 38 adapted to lie against the rod 26. Desirably, the strip 38 is stiffened in any convenient manner, such as by a longitudinally extending bead 40. A plurality of spaced tongues 42 are provided along the strip 38 and are bent to extend partially around the rod 26 with their ends projecting outwardly from said rod to lie out of the plane of the webs 34. The space between each pair of adjacent tongues is substantially equal to the width of one of the webs 34 and the width of each tongue is substantially equal to the spacing between a pair of adjacent webs, so that the webs and the tongues are in alternate and substantially continuous engagement with the rod 26 within the lateral extent of the seat and back frames. Conveniently, there is one more tongue than there are webs so that the two outermost webs will be interposed between a pair of said tongues. One or more of the tongues is bent over the rod 26 to bind against said rod to hold the strip 38 and the tongues 42 in a fixed axial position on said rod.

The spacing means may be quickly and easily mounted in operative position after chair assembly. This can easily be effected by placing the strip 38' against the lower edge of the back face of the rod 26 with a tongue 42 disposed on each side of each of the webs 30, then rotating the strip on the rod so that each of the tongues 42 projects generally downwardly from the front face of the rod and out of the plane of the webs 34. One or more of the tongues is then bent under the rod 26 to bind against said rod and hold the strip and tongues in position thereon.

A modified form of my invention is shown in FIGS. and 6, wherein there is provided a length of wire 44 having its ends bent as at 45 and provided with a plurality of offsets 46 disposed at spaced intervals along its length. Conveniently, each of the offsets 46 has a length substantilly equal to the distance between the adjacent edges of adjacent webs 34, and the intervals between adjacent offsets are substantially equal to the width of the webs. A plurality of generally O-shaped spacers 48, each having thickness substantially greater than the thickness of the webs 34 and a Width slightly less than the length of the offsets, are provided to fit over the rod 26 and the offsets 46 for holding the Webs 30 in their laterally spaced positions on said rod. To this end, each of the spacers 48 is provided with a laterally extending opening 50 for the reception of the seat supporting rod 26. A laterally extending slot 52 is formed in each spacer at the edge of the opening 50 and is adapted to receive the one of the offsets 46, with the ends of said offset retaining said spacer in fixed axial position on the rod. The spacers 48 are desirably formed from a resilient material such as polystyrene, aluminum, or the like, so that they will be bindingly retained on the rod 26 and the offsets 46.

In assemblying the wire and spacers on a chair, the Wire is placed against the rod 26 so that the offsets 46 engage said rod along their lengths. A spacer 48 is then disposed over said rod between each of the webs 30 with the opening 50 receiving the rod 26 and the slot 52 receiving an offset 46. The binding action of the spacers on the rod 26 holds said spacers and the wire 44 in a fixed axial position on said rod and thereby retains the webs in their normally spaced relation. Conveniently, there is one more spacer and offset than there are webs so that the two outermost webs will be disposed between a pair of spacers 48, the end spacers being retained on said rod by the bent ends 45 of the wire.

I claim as my invention:

In an article of furniture of the type comprising seat and back frames supported on a plurality of floor-engaging legs, and a plurality of laterally spaced webs having their ends connected to the upper edge of the back frame and the forward edge of the seat frame, the intermediate stretches of said webs extending under a rod extending transversely across the rear of the seat frame; spacing means mountable on said rod for holding said webs in a spaced relation thereon, comprising an elongated member adapted to lie against said rod in the spaces between said webs, and a plurality of laterally spaced rod-engaging spacers engaging said rod at spaced intervals between adjacent webs for holding said Webs in spaced relation, said spacers being retained in fixed laterally spaced engagement with said rod by said elongated member, at least one of said spacers bindingly gripping said rod for holding the remaining spacers and the elongated member in a fixed axial position thereon.

2. The invention as set forth in claim 1 with the addition that each of said spacers has a width substantially equal to the space between adjacent Webs and said webs and spacers are in alternate substantially continuous engagement with said rod along the length of said elongated member.

3. The invention as set forth in claim 1 with the addition that there is one more spacer than web, whereby the two outermost webs will be disposed between a pair of said spacers.

4. The invention as set forth in claim 1 in which said elongated member is an elongated metal strip and said spacers are tongues integrally formed thereon and bent to partially circumscribe said rod between adjacent webs.

5. The invention as set forth in claim 4 with the addition that said metal strip is provided with a stiffening bead extending the length thereof.

6. The invention as set forth in claim 1 in which said elongated member comprises a rod having a plurality of offsets adapted to lie against said first-mentioned rod and prevent said spacers from moving axially on said firstmentioned rod.

7. The invention as set forth in claim 1 in which said elongated member comprises a rod having offsets adapted to lie against said first mentioned rod and said spacers comprise a plurality of resilient generally G-shape'd mem *bers adapted to bindingly grip said offsets and said first mentioned rod between adjacent webs.

8. The invention as set forth in claim 7 in which each of said offsets has a length slightly less than the distance between adjacent webs and each of said spacers has a width slightly less than the length of each offset.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. IN AN ARTICLE OF FURNITURE OF THE TYPE COMPRISING SEAT AND BACK FRAMES SUPPORTED ON A PLURALITY OF FLOOR-ENGAGING LEGS, AND A PLURALITY OF LATERALLY SPACED WEBS HAVING THEIR ENDS CONNECTED TO THE UPPER EDGE OF THE BACK FRAME AND THE FORWARD EDGE OF THE SEAT FRAME, THE INTERMEDIATE STRETCHES OF SAID WEBS EXTENDING UNDER A ROD EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY ACROSS THE REAR OF THE SEAT FRAME; SPACING MEANS MOUNTABLE ON SAID ROD FOR HOLDING SAID WEBS IN A SPACED RELATION THEREON, COMPRISING AN ELONGATED MEMBER ADAPTED TO LIE AGAINST SAID ROD IN THE SPACES BETWEEN SAID WEBS, AND A PLURALITY OF LATERALLY SPACED ROD-ENGAGING SPACERS ENGAGING SAID ROD AT SPACED INTERVALS BETWEEN ADJACENT WEBS FOR HOLDING SAID WEBS IN SPACED RELATION, SAID SPACERS BEING RETAINED IN FIXED LATERALLY SPACED ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID ROD BY SAID ELONGATED MEMBER, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID SPACERS BINDINGLY GRIPPING SAID ROD FOR HOLDING THE REMAINING SPACERS AND THE ELONGATED MEMBER IN A FIXED AXIAL POSITION THEREON. 